Electric call-box



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. L. B. FIRMAN.

ELECTRIC CALL BOX.

No. 375,617. Patentewlec. 27, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEROY B. FIRMAN, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELECTRIIC CALL-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 375,617, dated December 27, 1887.

Application filed March 528, [887. Serial No. 232,655, (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEROY B. FIRMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Electric Gall-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in the construction and operation of electric call-boxes used in municipal combined police and fire alarm signaling systems.

The chief advantage of myinvention is that it is applicable to the ordinary electric callboxes now so largely and generally used throughout the country for municipal signaling purposes, requiring no special change in the mechanism of the call-box for its adaptation thereto. These boxes or stations are located at various points throughout the city having the service, and are used to send alarms or signals for the police or fire department, as occasion demands. Each box or station is constructed to send a certain signal, usually by a clock-work mechanism, which, when a handle is pulled, sets in motion a suitable circuit making and breaking wheel or device, that puts the predetermined signal of the particular box upon tlieline. In order to prevent unauthorized persons from tampering with the signal the mechanism is inclosed in a housing or box, the outer door of which is keptlocked, and any person desiring to send a signal is required first to obtain the key from the keeper thereof. It has also been customary to inclose the clock-work mechanism in an inner chamber or box, also locked, and the key to which is kept at headquarters, as it is not necessary that the public or the persons sending the alarms or signals should ever have access to this inner chamber. In order to distinguish between a fire-alarm and a police-alarm, it is necessary for the sender of the signal to setthe mechanism for the one purpose or the other; and this has been arranged for ordinarily by providing the apparatus with a shifting button, lever, or device of some kind, which,when the outer door of the box is opened, may be adjusted either before or after pulling the handle that operates the clock-work to send the signal-number to thestation; but of course the person who sends such an alarm never does it except in case of an emergency, and is usually in an excited state and hurried. It has been found that inexperienced people are extremely liable to make mistakes under such circumstances, no matter how plain and explicit the directions may be. abletocomprehendthedirections,or,in theconfusion, fail to carry them out; and the resultis that fire-alarms are sent in where police-alarms are intended, and police-alarms where firealarms are intended, quite frequently. In any case, this is likely to be a matter of serious consequence,to say nothing of the inconvenience to the department called out by mistake. Itis to aflord a safeguard against such errors thatthis invention is intended; and to this end my invention consists in providing the call-box with two or more keys, depending upon the number of different kinds of service to be called, so contrived, in conjunction with the mechanism of the box,'that when the outer door of the box is unlocked with either one of these keys and the handle of the alarm pulled the mechanism of the box will be found ready set to send the signal for the service called for by the particular key with which the box has been unlocked. In other words, if the outer door of the box has been unlocked with the fire-alarm key, the pulling of asingle handle will send a fire-alarm, and if the outer door of the box has been unlocked with the police alarm key then the pulling of the same handle willsend a police-alarm. The keys being properly labeled the keeper gives the proper key to the person desiring to sendin the alarm, and after this all possibility of mistake is avoided.

In practicing my invention many different mechanical devices may be employed, and many changes of the mechanical features will naturally suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. The best and simplest embodiment of the invention that has thus far occurred to me is the one which I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 shows a front view of an ordinary firealarm box adapted to my improvement. In this view a portion of the outer door is shown broken away and the mechanism, so far as the same is necessary to be shown, inside of They either are not the inner door, is indicated in dotted. lines. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3, at, and 5 are detail diagrams of the mechanism, somewhat enlarged from the preceding figures. Figs. 6 and 7 are two separate keys for different service. Figs. 9, 10, and 11 are views of the modified form of the apparatus hereinafter alluded to.

In said drawings, A represents the outer housing or box usually made of iron.

B is the door securely hinged thereto and provided with a lock, 0.

D is theinner casing or box inclosing the clock-work or mechanism for producing the signal. E is its door, also ordinarily provided with a lock, which is not shown in the draw ings, and the key to which is kept by the department or authorities. A handle or lever, F, projects from the mechanism or clock-work through the door Eslotted for this purposeinto position so that the same may be pulled or operated when the outside door is open. Any ordinary combined fire and police alarm clock-work mechanism may be used.

I haveindicated in the drawings the call-box mechanism, which was heretofore patented to me and which is now largely in general use in what is known as district telegraph service.

It is so contrived that when the handle F is pulled the clock-work will, by means of a broken toothed wheel, send a certain number of impulses over the line and follow this signal with a second signal from a second circuitoperating device or wheel, which latter wheel may be set, by means of the pointer or lever G,

to give more or less impulses or none at all, as desired. A detailed description of this wellknown mechanism is not necessary to a proper understanding of this invention. It will be sufficient to state, for present purposes, that if the pointer or lever G is not moved the pulling of the handle F will cause the clock-work to send simply the number of the box, while if the pointer G is previously moved a certain distance in the direction of the arrow on Fig. 1 the pulling of the handle F will send the number of the box and follow it by a single electrical impulse or signal, and if the pointer or lever G be moved through twice this distance in the direction of the arrow the pulling of the handle F will send the number of the box and follow the same with two impulses, and so on.

At Fig. 7 is shown the ordinary key H, with which the outside door of the box may be unlocked.

At Fig. 6 is shown the key H, which is the same key as H, provided, however, with a prolongation, h, and an extra ward, h. W'ithin the inside box is mounted, preferably on the door thereof, a sliding block, K, supported through slots k it upon pins and having a retractile spring, L. At one end of this block is a projection, in, and at the other end a pro- 6 5 jection, m.

In the inner door, and registering with the key-hole of the. outer door,is a keyhole, N, so

contrived, as indicated in the drawings, that when the key H is inserted in the outer lock the prolongation h will enter this inner keyhole, and when this key is turned to unlock the outer door the ward it will engage the projection m and move the sliding block, which motion is imparted to the pointer or lever G, thus setting the box to give a signal in addltion to its number. A third key may be made of the same kind with a larger ward, h, contrived to give a greater motion to the slide K. and the pointer G, so as to set the box tor a different additional signal, if desired, as, for example, where hospital service is required in addition to fire and police service. When the key H or its modification is used to open the box, the pulling of the handle will send,without any other manipulation, a changed signal from what is given by pulling the same handle when the box is opened with the key H.

An obvious modificatiompossessing some of the advantages of the construction just above described, may be made by having additional wards to the ditferentkeys instead of the prolongation h, in which case the lever or moving device actuated by the extra ward may be located in the outer lock itself, and its motion communicated, either electrically or by mechanical means, through the medium of the outer case to the mechanism inclosed in the inner case to effect the change in position of the pointer G or device for setting into operation the extra signal.

The diagram of the modification in which I propose to use the electric current as a shift is shown at Fig. 9, in which a switch is moved by an extra bolt in the lock corresponding to the sliding block K. This extra bolt is not operated when the key H is used, but when the key H Fig. 10, having the extra ward h is employed, the turning of the key to unlock the lock shoots this bolt out and pushes over the switch S. Two circuit breaking and making signal-wheels, TT, upon the same shaftare employed in this modification instead of one, both being of the ordinary construction, however, but having different signals on their peripheries. The mechanical method of modifying the apparatus, as above indicated, is suggested at Fig. 11. A lever, W, pivoted at w to the inner chamber, is so placed that when moved its upper end will engage the pointer or lever G and move the same to the required distance. The lower end of this lever is bent andbrought out, so that it will engage the extra bolt of the lock on the outer door in the same manner substantially as the switch S. So, too, instead of employing an extra signal given by the clock work, the extra ward, whether on the body of the key or on a prolongation thereof, may, instead of moving a pointer, be caused to move a switch to throw the box into circuit with another line where separate lines are usedfor example, for fire and police service. The mechanical details of the signal-sending mechanism may of course be infinitely varied without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is also obvious that instead of providing the prolongation h with a ward the ward may be left off and the shifting device operated by the mere pressure of the prolongation upon a movable part or lever, but I prefer to have the ward.

I claim- 1. The combination,with a call-box having an exterior lock, of two or more keys, either of which will unlock the box and one or more of which are given a different configuration to engage and move a shitting device constructed to change the signal sent by the box, substantially as specified.

2. A call-box provided with a shifting device for changing the signal to be sent and having an outer-locked door, in combination with two or more keys, all capable of unlocking the lock and of different configuration in relation to their engagement with the shifting device.

3. The combination of the call-box having a locked outer door, the clock-work mechanism for sending the call inclosed in an inner chamber, the handle for operating the clockwork projecting from the inner chamber into the outer chamber, the device for changing the signal to be sent located within the inner chamber, and two or more keys all capable of unlocking the outer chamber, and one or more of which are provided with a prolongation to enter the inner chamber and operate the shifting device, substantially as specified.

LEROY B. FIRMAN.

Witnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, EDMUND ADCOOK. 

